The
new list of explosive materials, which ATF must revise and publish
annually, was recently printed in the Federal Register. The article
in its entirety is presented here.

Commerce
in Explosives; List of Explosive Materials

Updated: 4/26/02

Pursuant
to the provisions of section 841(d) of title 18, United States
Code (U.S.C.), and 27 CFR 55.23, the Director, Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms, must publish and revise at least annually
in the Federal Register a list of explosives determined to be
within the coverage of 18 U.S.C. chapter 40, Importation, Manufacture,
Distribution, and Storage of Explosive Materials. This chapter
covers not only explosives, but also blasting agents and detonators,
all of which are defined as explosive materials in section 841(c)
of title 18, U.S.C. Accordingly, the following is the 2002 List
of Explosive Materials subject to regulation under 18 U.S.C. chapter
40. It includes both the list of explosives (including detonators)
required to be published in the Federal Register and blasting
agents.

The
list is intended to include any and all mixtures containing any
of the materials on the list. Materials constituting blasting
agents are marked by an asterisk. While the list is comprehensive,
it is not all-inclusive. The fact that an explosive material may
not be on the list does not mean that it is not within the coverage
of the law if it otherwise meets the statutory definitions in
section 841 of title 18, U.S.C. Explosive materials are listed
alphabetically by their common names followed, where applicable,
by chemical names and synonyms in brackets.

In
the 2002 List of Explosive Materials, ATF has added five terms
to the list of explosives, has further defined two explosive materials,
and has made amendments to two explosive materials to more accurately
reference these materials.

The
five additions to the list are as follows:

Azide explosives

HMTD [hexamethylenetriperoxidediamine]

Nitrate explosive mixtures

Picrate explosives

TATP [triacetonetriperoxide]

We
have added these explosive materials to the List because their
primary or common purpose is to

function
by explosion. ATF has encountered the criminal use of some of
these materials in improvised devices. ``Nitrate explosive mixtures''
is intended to be an all-encompassing term, including all forms
of sodium, potassium, barium, calcium, and strontium nitrate explosive
mixtures.

The
two explosive materials that we have further defined by including
their chemical names are listed as follows:

DIPAM [dipicramide; diaminohexanitrobiphenyl]

EDNA [ethylenedinitramine]

The
two amendments to previously listed explosive materials are as
follows:

"Nitrates
of soda explosive mixtures'' has been deleted and replaced with
``Sodium nitrate explosive mixtures'' to reflect current terminology.

PBX was previously defined as ``RDX and plasticizer.'' We are
changing the definition to reflect that PBX is an acronym for
``plastic bonded explosive.''

This
revised list supersedes the List of Explosive Materials dated
September 14, 1999 (Notice No. 880, 64 FR 49840; correction notice
of September 28, 1999, 64 FR 52378) and will be effective on April
26, 2002.